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PHOSPHATVILLES | Cultura Bologna

Discovered in the 1920s, phosphate deposits made Morocco’s fortunes. The country – until then dedicated to agriculture, livestock farming and characterized by widespread nomadism – experienced a season of industrialization, to the point of establishing itself as one of the largest exporters of phosphates in the world.

The exhibition PHOSPHATVILLES. Territory, Settlements and Architecture in the Ouled Abdoun mining site in Moroccoorganized by Department of Architecture in collaboration with the University Museum System of the Alma Mater, offers a journey to discover the urban centers created around the mines of the Phosphate Valley. The exhibition will be inaugurated on Tuesday November 17 at 5.15pm and can be visited until 2 March 2025, at the Geology Collection “Giovanni Capellini Museum” (Via Zamboni 63, Bologna).

Thousands of people were employed in the extraction and processing of phosphates in Morocco. Neighborhoods and cities sprang up to house workers, managers and employees. Around the deposit of Ould Abdounin the hinterland of the country, the towns of Boujniba, Boulanouare, Hattane, Khouribga and Oued Zem were born. Conceived as autonomous and independent centres, the settlements reflect the model of European garden cities on the one hand, and that of Moroccan medinas on the other. The centers of OCP (Office Chérifien des Phosphates) – which has managed the extraction and trade of the mineral since 1920 – are real company cities, which reflect the patterns of production organization and the colonial segregation policies of the time, with a clear distinction between the spaces intended for the European ruling class and those for the Moroccan working class.

The exhibition – curated by the teachers of the Alma Mater Annalisa Trentin, Stefania Rössl e Elena Mucelli – collects material kept mainly at colonial archives public and private in Morocco and in , graphic documentation e photographic acquired thanks to field missions e studies regarding some Mining Towns. It therefore offers visitors the opportunity to get to know a ignored heritageoften ignored. It also opens a reflection on future of Moroccan mining citiespromoting their protection, valorisation and possible urban and architectural transformation to adapt them to today’s needs.

The choice of setting PHOSPHATVILLESat the Geology Collection “Museo Giovanni Capellini” brings to attention another crucial theme: the exploitation of the mineral and natural resources of our planet. With the start of phosphate mining operations in Morocco, numerous have indeed come to light fossils of marine and terrestrial vertebrates. This opened the way to an intense trade in artefacts, many of which were fake or modified. Some fossils from Moroccan deposits will be displayed in the exhibition, to highlight the wealth to be preserved and the human skill which, in some cases, embellishes or modifies the object to make it more marketable.

The exhibition fits into the framework of the project Mining Cities of Moroccowinner of the tender “Unibo – Global South” – International cooperation projects for the development of the Departments, promoted by the Department of Architecture, with the collaboration of the Ecole d’Architecture et de Paysage de Casablanca University, the non-governmental organizations Memory of Moroccan Modern Architects and Casamémoire. In line with theGoal 11 of the SDGs (Sustainable Development GoalsHIM) – “Make cities and human settlements inclusive, safe, durable and sustainable” – the project aims to safeguard a cultural heritage threatened by the transformations induced by OCP, by a lack of urban and territorial planning, by an unconditional use of the land which has critical repercussions on the natural and built environment, on the activities and health of its inhabitants.

OPENING HOURS

Tuesday – Friday from 9am to 1pm

Saturday, Sunday and holidays from 10am to 6pm

Closings: 24 and 25 December, 1 January

TICKETS

Exhibition that can be visited with the entrance ticket to the Collection (full €5, reduced €3, free for students and Unibo staff. For all reductions and free tickets, consult the INFORMATION AND SERVICES section

Info https://sma.unibo.it/it/agenda/phosphatvilles-mostra

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